Rock and a Hard Place

Saturday, May 08, 2010

What was it really like for artists yearning to express themselves during the age of the Soviet Union? This year’s edition of Wall to Wall, the free, day-long concert at Symphony Space, looks at the music of composers who lived and worked behind the Iron Curtain. We'll give you a sneak preview, listening to composers from different USSR-occupied countries who needed to climb walls to be heard, so to speak.

Dimitri Shostakovich was infamously terrorized by police and political figures for decades during the Cold War, constantly living in fear while his works were either criticized and banned, or, briefly exalted and then banned again. Other composers also lived this manic existence: Estonian composer Arvo Pärt was considered controversial and his composition Credo was banned. Henryk Gorecki's Miserere, written in response to a brutal police attack in Poland, was not heard for more than 6 years and its first performance was considered 'illegal'.

This week, we'll hear music of Shostakovich, Part and Gorecki, as well as Sextet by Erwin Schulhoff. A German-born musical prodigy- pianist, composer and brilliant improviser- he loved the popular styles of his day, including jazz. Schulhoff decided to become a Soviet citizen in 1939, but was soon deported and sent to a concentration camp during a brief non-aggression pact between Stalin and Hitler, where he was exterminated. His Sextet, for 6 string players, proves he was a huge talent that fell victim to the war.

Playlist:

(What did I do to Be So) Black and BlueWaller, Razaf, BrooksLouis Armstrong, trumpet, vocalsDisques Swing 8450

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About All Ears with Terrance McKnight

All Ears with Terrance McKnight is a weekly show about musical discovery. Covering a wide range of styles, genres and periods, the show celebrates the diverse musical passions of its host, Terrance McKnight, as well as occasional guests -- including performers, composers, choreographers, critics and others. As music and ideas are experienced side by side, the power of music to transform is revealed and celebrated.